THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



touched on were furnished by several of the members who 

 attended. 



A report was read by Mr. G. A. Keartland on the work done 

 by the sub-committee appointed by the Club to draw up a list of 

 suggestions for the assistance of the Minister before any altera- 

 tions were made in the existing Game Act. The sub-committee 

 reported that nearly 300 printed circulars, containing several 

 questions to be answered, were issued to various sportsmen, and 

 a large number of these had been returned with the replies filled 

 in. Out of forty-five leading sportsmen in various parts of the 

 State, only one stated that he had not found young quail at the 

 opening of the season. Thirty stated that they had found the 

 birds still breeding, and twenty-five recommended the alteration 

 of the date of opening the shootmg season from ist March to ist 

 April. Nearly all the replies favoured the opening of the shoot- 

 ing season for ducks on the ist February, as very few of the young 

 birds can fly by the 20th December. Finally a conference was 

 held at which representatives of the Royal Agricultural Society, 

 sportsmen, bird dealers, and fruit-growers, together with the 

 Club's sub-committee, were present, when the list and sug- 

 gestions submitted by the sub-committee was adopted by the 

 conference, and it was suggested that a deputation, consisting of 

 the representatives above mentioned, together with the president 

 and secretary of this Club, should wait on the Minister and urge 

 the adoption of the list as amended. 



Messrs. A. Coles, A. J. Campbell, and A. E. Kitson discussed 

 the report. 



Mr. D. Le Souef moved — "That the sub-committee endeavour 

 to arrange for a deputation to the Minister, and that the President 

 and Secretary attend." 



On the motion of Mr. G. Coghill, seconded by Mr. J. H. 

 Gatliff, Mr. Keartland was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for 

 the valuable work he-had done in connection with this matter. 



The hon. librarian reported the receipt of the following 

 donations to the library : — Journal of Agriculture, Victoria, 

 February and March, from the Department of Agriculture, 

 Victoria; "Fungus Diseases," by D. M'Alpine, from the author; 

 " Proceedings Royal Society of Victoria," part 2, 1902, from 

 the Society ; The Wombat, March, from the Geelong Field 

 Naturalists' Club ; The Emu, April, from the Australasian 

 Ornithologists' Union ; " Report on the Kiandra Lead," from 

 Department of Mines, New South Wales ; " Notes on the Botany 

 of Pitcairn Island," by J. H. Maiden, F.L.S., Sydney, from the 

 author; " Insects and Insect Lore," by J. G. O. Tapper, F.L.S., 

 Adelaide, from the author ; Nature Notes, February, from the 

 Selborne Society, London ; Knowledge and Science Gossip, 

 February and March, from the proprietors. 



